Book review:Thirty Something and Over it
 Book author: Kasey Edwards
Publisher: Random House Australia
With the successful career and high paying job she’s always aimed for, Kasey Edwards thought that she had it all until she woke up one morning and realised that she didn’t want to go to work – ever again. With irreverence, wit and honesty, Kasey recounts her journey through her ‘thrisis’ as she realises that a high powered career isn’t the be all and end all.
In Thirty Something and Over It, Kasey’s journey in trying to get her ‘give-a-shit’ factor back goes from self-help books, to asking her gynecologist for the magic answer and spending ten days at a silent meditation retreat. Over time she starts to realise that her identity is not connected to her workplace and that she needs to find her ‘baby’ –something she can care about and nurture.
Her wit and honesty in describing what she experienced come across as the strengths of this self-deprecating memoir. The book makes you laugh, go ‘Yup I’ve experienced that’ or ‘Omigod, this is exactly what I am going through!’ and gets you hooked. Her journey resonates as many can relate to the experience of the journey itself, how long it took for her to discover what she wanted and the paths she tried to get there brings the journey home.
With many books in this field, what makes this book unique is Kasey’s ability to laugh at herself and be openly honest about the decisions she made and her self-analysis. Her wit and openness about not offering the answers to life is what makes you read this book page after page and get really stuck in. With this book, Kasey has touched on a hot point in all our lives.
The relieving aspect of this book is that Kasey doesn’t try to provide the answers or offer a quick solution to finding your ‘give-a-shit’ factor or the cure for your crisis. Instead she offers her discovery and the journey she went through in order to find her personal fulfillment in the hopes that you realise that you aren’t the only f*cked up one out there. Her memoir shows that we all have to have our own journey to find our happiness and fulfillment as opposed to following a cookie-cutter path.
Kasey’s combination of wit, humour and honesty in reflecting and documenting her journey makes this a can’t-put-it-down book that you’ll want all your friends to have.
Our rating: 10/10
By Alyssa McLash, Co-editor, Women & Leadership Australia eNewsletter
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